Machine frame structure



Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE Filed June 17, 1966 INVENTOR Day/'0 /V0e/ Obensha/n My C. M

ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1966 INVENTOR 00 via /V0e/ Obensha/n BY M 6. M

ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN 3,359,054

MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE Filed June 17, 1966 7 Sheets-$heet 5 INVENTOR 00 W0 /V0e/ Givens/70in BY My C, A?

ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN 3,

MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE Filed June 17, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 6

INVENTOR Dav/'0 A/oe/ Obensha/n ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 17, 1966 Fig. 8

V lNv Efifk Dav/'0 Noel Obensha/n BY W a ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 17, 1966 Fig. /3

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INVENTOR 00 via /V0e/ Obensha/n BY WC.

ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1967 D. N. OBENSHAIN MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 17, 1966 Fig. /8

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TOP

CORNER FRONT INVENTOR 00 via A/oe/ Obensha/n BY I M ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,359,054 Patented Dec. 19, 1967 3,359,054 MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE David Noel Obenslrain, Luke, Md., assignor to West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 17, 1966, Ser. No. 558,509 11 Claims. (Cl. 312352) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine frame structure is presented having three basic parts for the support of various machine elements which are mounted thereon in a manner whereby the different elements may be effectively enclosed or exposed by a releasibly attached cover member.

Brief summary the invention This application deals with the invention of a unique and greatly improved machine frame structure for light to medium duty machinery such as used in many manufacturing and converting operations.

The machine frame described and claimed herein is designed to provide an organized support means for the various elements of the machine, and for the drives and services brought to the elements. Most machine frames meet the primary requirements, which are, support for the various elements of the machine and for the drives thereto. However, services such as electrical wiring, air, water, steam and other piping, and control stations have to be attached to the outside of the frames. In addition, guards and covers for moving or hazardous parts of the machine are also attached to the frames. All of these attachments to the outside of the frames give the machine a very cluttered appearance, and make cleaning extremely difiicult.

The objects of my invention have been accomplished by carefully designing a simple machine frame having only a few basic parts which are structurally rigid to prevent undesired distortion or vibration, while permitting ready access to the various elements mounted thereon. Further, my invention provides adequate and logical space for mounting the necessary operating controls for the various machine elements. Particular care was taken with the claimed apparatus to ensure that the machine elements could be easily serviced and cleaned as a result of the convenient, releasibly attached cover members which are hereinafter described in more detail. The cover members further give the machine frame a neat and pleasing appearance while offering protection to the operator from accidental contact with the moving parts of the machine that might cause injury.

Hence, the unique machine frame structure which I have invented and described herein adequately meets the primary requirements, and in addition it provides concealed but readily accessible, raceways for electrical wiring, piping, etc., and space for drives and for control station equipment. The frame structure also serves as a guard for moving and other hazardous parts of the machine. Furthermore, the frame has a smoothly contoured outside surface, minimizing the accumulation of dirt and dust thereon, and permitting easy removal of any dirt that does accumulate. Esthetica'lly, the frame has a neat and pleasing appearance. To aid in understanding my invention, the following drawings are provided, in which:

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 shows a simplified diagram of the working parts of a machine used to illustrate the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows, as an example of the prior art, a machine with a typical conventional frame structure;

FIGURE 3 shows a front view of the same machine with my improved frame structure;

FIGURE 4 shows the same view with the frame covers removed and the front part of the base members cut away;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the machine, taken at 5-5 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view of the side rails taken at 66 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged front view of the left pedestal shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 8 is a front sectional view of the left pedestal taken at 8-8 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of the left pedestal identified by 9-9 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a top sectional view of one of the roll adjusting mechanisms identified by 1010 in FIG- URE 8;

FIGURE 11 is another top sectional view of the same r-oll adjusting mechanism in a lower plane, identified by 11-11 in FIGURE 8. This shows a removable crank instead of the handwheel shown in FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is an end sectional view of the slide block supporting the adjustable roll as identified by arrows 12 12 in FIGURE 10. It also shows the construction of the roll;

FIGURE 13 is a full size cross section of the cover retaining channel showing the means for attaching the channel to the mounting plate;

FIGURE 14 is the same as FIGURE 13 except it shows a means for securing the cover in the retaining channel;

FIGURE 15 is a full size cross section showing the splice plate at the bottom ege of the cover, and means for fastening it to the base member;

FIGURE 16 shows the rubber moulding used where the cover goes around the side frame members and for other openings in the cover;

FIGURES 17 and 18 show respectively a front and side view of the cover near the top;

FIGURE 19 shows one of the rounded corner triangles as viewed from inside;

FIGURE 20 shows the pattern for the top portion of the cover shown in FIGURES 17 and 18.

Detailed description In order to clearly illustrate the many advantages of my improved frame structure, I shall compare it with a conventional frame structure.

For purposes of illustration, I shall use a portion of a paper converting machine somewhat similar to that for which the improved frame was devised. FIGURE 1 shows in simplified form the operating parts of this portion of the machine. Sets of tapes 1 and 2 bring spaced sheets of paper 3 to treating drum 4 where they are forced against the drum by means of air shower 5. After contact with the drum the sheets are transported on to another part of the machine by means of tapes 6 and 7. Tape drive roll 8 drives tapes 1, likewise tape drive rolls 9, 10 and 11 drive tapes 2, 6 and 7 respectively. Cooperating with tape drive roll '8 are two tape turning rolls 12 and 13. Roll 12 is adjustable and serves as a tape tightening means. In like manner tape turning rolls 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 serve their respective tape systems. Tape rolls 20 and 21 are adjustable up and down as shown. Small tape rolls 22 and 23 bring the bottom tapes as close as practical to drum 4. Guide fingers 24 and 2S assist further in directing the sheets onto, and off, the drum. All tapes and the surface of drum 4 move at the same speed. Other equipment associated with drum 4 is not shown since it forms no part of this invention. The functional arrangement of the machine is likewise no part of this invention and is merely used to illustrate the many unique features of my improved frame structure.

FIGURE 2 shows the front view of the machine equipped with a typical prior art conventional frame structure. The main frame comprises front rail 51 and a similar back rail not shown, which rails may be hollow rectangular mechanical tubing, and front supporting posts 52 and 53 and similar back supporting posts, not shown, which may be similar mechanical tubing. Cross struts, not shown, may be used to tie the front and back frames together at appropriate places and may be braced to provide rigidity. The rails may be attached to the posts by welding or by bolts, not shown. The posts may be attached to the floor or to sole plates 54 and 55 by means of bolts 56. This is typical of the main frames of many modern medium size machines.

Additional auxiliary frames 57, 58, 59 and 60 may be used to support the various type drive and turning rolls, which rolls are more clearly shown in FIGURE 1. The adjustable rolls may have sliding bearing blocks, such as 61, with screws and worm gearing, not shown, and handwheels such as 62 for positioning them.

The drive to the machine may be in the form of line shafts 63, 64 and 65 and right angle gear boxes 66 and 67 coupled together by couplings 68, all at the back side of the machine. Since the drives to pulleys and 11 are identical to the drive to pulleys 8 and 9, only the drives to 8 and 9 will be described. Pulley 69 on gear box 66 drives by means of belt 71 pulley 72 on the shaft extension of roll 9. Another similar pulley 73 adjacent to pulley 72 on the shaft extension of roll 9 drives by means of belt 75 pulley 76 on the shaft extension of roll 8. A third pulley 74 on the shaft extension of roll 9 drives by means of belt 77 pulley 78 on drum 4. The pulleys may be the flat belt type or toothed belt type. If absolute speed synchronization is required the toothed belt type may be indicated.

Air supply pipe 79 comes up through the floor and goes to shut-off valve 80 and thence to pressure regulator valve 81. From the pressure regulator 81 the air goes to cross 82. From the top of the cross the air goes to cross pipe 83 which supplies air to the back end of shower pipe 5. From the left outlet of cross 82, air goes to pressure indicating gauge 84, and from the right outlet of cross 82 air goes by way of flexible hose 85 to the front end of air shower Electrical control wiring comes up through the floor in rigid conduit 86 to junction box 87 and thence through rigid conduit to push button stations 88 and 89. Another branch of the wiring goes by means of conduit 90 to the back side of the machine for additional push buttom stations not shown.

From a study of FIGURE 2, it will be observed that the machine frame is cluttered by a multitude of auxiliary frames for supporting the various rolls, air piping, air controls, electrical conduit, and control stations. The line shaft at the back of the machine clutters up the floor space in that area and to prevent injury by contact therewith requires covers or guards. Likewise, the belt drives require guards around them for safety purposes. The line shaft, base plates on the posts, and, exposed bolts 56 make cleaning the floor quite difficult. Exposed slide bearings 61 and the ways in which the bearings slide, the open pillow block bearings, and exposed piping and wiring, all form natural dust collectors and make cleaning the machine difficult.

Now, by contrast, observe the appearance of the identical machine now equipped with my new improved frame structure, as shown in FIGURE 3. The frame has a smooth rounded contour with substantially no projections. The pedestals which replace the posts of FIGURE 2 come straight down to the floor with no ledges or exposed bolts. There are no exposed pipes or conduits, and the line shaft, shown in FIGURE 2 at the bottom of the machine, has been moved to a position within the machine frame.

FIGURE 4 is the same view as FIGURE 3, except all covers have been removed and the front part of the bases 91 have been cut away. This shows where all the clutter has gone. Air supply 79 comes up through an opening in the sole plate 92 and base 91, then goes to shut-off valve 80, pressure regulator 81, and to pressure gauge 84 using a standard pressure gauge connection on 81. From regulator 81 the air goes to T 93 which replaces the cross 82 in FIGURE 2. From the bottom of the T the air continues on down to cross pipe 83 for supplying air to the back end of shower pipe 5. From the right facing outlet of T 93 air goes through plate 94 into the air channel of shower pipe support block 95. A similar shower pipe support block at the back side of the machine directs the air from cross pipe 83 to the back end of the shower pipe. Cross pipe 83 goes to the back side of the machine through hollow bottom cross strut 96.

In like manner, electrical conduit 86 comes up through the sole plate and base of the right pedestal and goes to junction box 87. A branch conduit goes to the back side of the machine through the hollow bottom cross strut. Flexible conduits 97 and 98 go to pushbutton stations 88 and 89 respectively. Flexible metallic or plastic cable can be used in place of rigid conduit for these runs. The push button boxes are mounted on the frame members so that only the button rings and buttons project through the removable covers. This is best shown in FIGURE 6. The ability to use flexible cable and conduits greatly facilitates the electrical wiring to push button stations, limit switches and other electrical devices, and this use is possible with my improved frame structure.

Thus far I have explained some of the obvious advantages of my unique improved machine frame structure. I shall now give details of the structure itself. A machine frame may consist of a single free standing front pedestal and a matching back pedestal plus none, or one or more connecting cross struts between the pedestals. Usually the machine frame will consist of two or more pairs of pedestals with interconnecting side frames and cross struts, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, which consists of pedestals 100 and 101 and side frames 102, 94 and 104, with cross struts 96, and others such as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9.

The structure of a pedestal is best shown in FIGURE 5. It consists of three main parts, base 91, upright mounting plate 105, and cover 106. The base is a heavy steel weldment or casting. For a medium size machine, I find a height of sixteen inches to be satisfactory. A suitable width is around twenty-two inches and depth, nine inches. Four /1 inch cap screws 107 may be used to fasten it firmly to the sole plate 92. A four inch hole in the bottom near the center may be provided for bringing in various services such as air, water and electric. This hole would cooperate with a similar hole in the sole plate and through the floor. If no services are required the hole could be omitted. The top, bottom and back face of the base should have machined finishes.

The upright mounting plate 105 is made of Blanchard ground hot rolled steel plate and has a thickness of 1 inch with surfaces parallel to plus or minus inch and flat to within & inch total indicator reading from diagonal corners. Such ground plate may be obtained from Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. The mounting plate is attached to the base by means of nine /3 inch socket head screws 108, the arrangement of which is shown in FIGURE 8.

The cover 106 is fabricated from 14 gauge hot rolled steel, as will be explained later. The back edge slips into a stainless steel J-shaped formed channel 109 attached to the edge of the mounting plate. This channel is shown full size in FIGURE 13, which also shows the 2 flat head screws 110 used to attach it to the plate. FIGURE 14 shows the button head screws 111 used to secure the cover in the channel. Only four of these screws are required. The bottom edge of the cover has attached to it by spot welding, or by other means, a stainless steel splice plate 112. This is shown full size in FIGURE 15. Two

button head screws 111 are used to secure the cover to the base. Thus, by removing only six screws, the cover can be slipped off the pedestal for access to any of the parts or mechanisms inside the pedestal. With the cover installed, all mechanisms inside the pedestal are protected from dust, and the operator is protected from contact with any of the moving mechanisms inside.

Prior to attaching the mounting plate to the base member, it may have all openings cut or machined in it for mounting of bearings, slides, etc. Front and back mounting plates may be clamped together and machined simultaneously, insuring precise alignment of parts mounted thereon. Since the mounting plate is ground on both surfaces, no surface machining is required for the mounting of bearings, slides, cross struts, etc., the smooth surface also facilitating the layout for holes, openings and drillings.

Cross struts are used to tie the front and back opposed pedestals together. These may be of any size desirable and may be located at convenient places Where they do not interfere with the function of the machine mechanisms. They may be fabricated of square, rectangular or round mechanical tubing in the smaller sizes, and of formed sections in the larger sizes. A large strut 96, eight inches by eighteen inches, is shown in FIGURE 5. Smaller struts 113, size two inches x three inches are shown in FIGURES 8 and 9. The struts may be hollow and have openings through the mounting plate so that pipes, Wiring and drive mechanisms may go from one side of the machine to the other through the struts. This is illustrated by air pipe 83 in FIGURE 5. The struts may be secured to the pedestal by screws through the mounting plates as shown by screws 114 in FIGURE 5, and 115 in FIGURE 9.

Where it is not desirable to bring services up through the pedestal bases, an alternate service entrance is shown through pipe sleeve 116 opening into the bottom of cross strut 96, in FIGURE 5. This sleeve may be located at the center of the machine as shown, or positioned nearer to one of the pedestals if desired.

My improved frame structure permits running a line shaft the full length of the machine fully concealed and protected. This is illustrated in FIGURES and 6. Bevel gear unit 117 is shown attached to the mounting plate of theback pedestal, with an output shaft projecting through the base of the gear unit. Standard bevel gear units may be obtained with this shaft projection. The line shaft 118 which couples to either side of the bevel gear unit extends along the back rail as shown in FIGURE 6 and is supported on intermediate bearings 119 attached to the rail 120. FIGURES 4 and 5 together illustrate the drive from the bevel gear unit 117 to tape rolls 8 and 9. Pulley 121 on the back shaft of roll 9 is used to drive the drum 4 by means of belt 122 and pulley 123, the latter being shown in FIGURE 4.

Side frames or rails 102, 94, 104 and their counterparts on the back side of the machine are used to connect the pairs of pedestals together lengthwise of the machine. FIGURE 6 illustrates a typical side rail construction. This section is located by arrows 6-6 in FIGURE 3. I have found ship channel quite suitable for these rails 104 and 120 as shown. Covers 124 and 125 are fabricated from 14 gauge hot rolled steel and are attached to the channels by stainless steel J-channels 109, similar to those used for the pedestal covers. Screws 111, not shown, are used to retain the covers in the channels.

Side frame 94 is made of 1 inch thick Blanchard ground plate similar to the pedestal mounting plates and is attached to the inside face of the pedestals as shown in FIGURES 4 and 8. It has the stainless steel I-channel along its top and bottom edges for receiving the edges of the cover. Considerable flexibility is permitted in the depth of the covers for the side frames so that they may accommodate shafts and other services passing through them. These covers extend slightly inside the pedestal covers which have cut-outs therein to fit around the side frame covers. I have found rubber moulding as shown in FIGURE 16 an excellent means for making a neat fit between the pedestal covers and the side frame covers. The pedestal cover openings are cut slightly larger than required. The rubber moulding is attached to the edges of the opening with a bonding cement, the covers are put in place and the moulding forced into a neat fit with the side frame covers, and held there until the cement sets. Two such mouldings are identified as 12 6 and 127 in FIGURE 7. This same rubber moulding may be used to line openings cut in the covers for control panels, as shown by 128 in FIGURES 3, 5 and 7, insuring a dusttight and rattle-free closure.

One particular advantage of my improved frame structure is that push button stations, control panels, indicator instruments, etc. may be mounted rigidly to the main mounting plates and side frames, with only the active portions projecting or showing through openings in the covers. Thus, wiring, piping and connections to such elements may be fully concealed yet they become readily accessible when the covers are removed. This is illustrated by the push button station 89 in FIGURE 6 and by the air control panel shown in FIGURES 3, 5 and 7. Referring to FIGURES 7 and 8, it will be noted that control panel 129 is attached to mounting plate by means of brackets 130 and 131. These brackets are of such length that the edging strip 128 just makes contact with the face of the panel when the cover 106 is in place. In addition to facilitating the running of services to such panels, this type of construction permits full operation of the machine with the covers removed, for checking and servicing of the various concealed parts and mechanisms.

One distinct advantage of using Blanchard ground steel for the mounting plates is that slots for slides, such as used to position adjustable rolls, may be machined in the plate without the normally required facing operations. Such slides are illustrated in FIGURES 8, 10, 11 and 12. A typical slot is identified as 132 in FIGURE 8. It may be made by drilling a hole at each end and milling the slot between the holes. Details of a typical slide and its operating mechanism are shown in FIGURES 10, 11 and 12. The slide block consists of two parts, 133 and 134, fastened together by means of socket head screws 135. Part 133 has internal threads to engage screw shaft'136. As shown in FIGURE 12, part 133 is recessed slightly into part 134 to insure precise alignment of the two parts. FIGURE 12 also shows a preferred roll construction for use with a dead shaft roll, that is, the shaft does not turn. Ball bearings 137 fitted into the ends of roll 12 permits it to turn freely on the shaft 138. Shaft 138 is shown with its end turned down to fit into block 134 where it is held by set screw 139. With this type of construction, rolls may be quickly removed by loosening the set screws at each end, removing screws 135, slipping the blocks 134 slightly up on the end of the shaft and lifting the entire assembly out in any accessible direction. For fixed position rolls, simple blocks 140 similar to blocks 134 may be bolted directly to the mounting plate 105.

As shown in FIGURES l0 and ll, the slide adjusting mechanism comprises screw shaft 136, worm gear 141 pinned thereto, supporting bracket 142 with bearing therein, and set collar 143. Cooperating with worm gear 141 is Worm 144 pinned to worm shaft 145. This shaft is carried in bushing 146, which is pressed into mounting plate 105, and, bearing block 147 attached to bracket 142. A hollow extension shaft 148 pinned to the back end of worm shaft goes to the back pedestal where it connects to the worm shaft of a similar slide adjusting mechanism for the back end of the roll. Thus both ends of the roll may be adjusted from one side of the machine. I have shown two different types of handles for turning shaft 145. In FIGURE 10 there is illustrated a handwheel 149 mounted on the front extension of the shaft and secured thereon by means of set screw 150. The shaft extends out through a hole in cover 105. This hole is lined by a rubber grommet 151, somewhat similar in cross section to the rubber moulding used for other openings in the cover, and as shown in detail in FIGURE 16. Of course, it is necessary to remove the handwheel before removing cover 106. FIGURE 11 shows a removable hand crank 152 which is inserted through grommet 151 and onto shortened shaft 145 where slots in crank 152 engage pin 153 pressed into the shaft 145. This removable crank has distinct advantages over the handwheel, where adjustments are made only when setting up the machine. One crank can serve a number of adjusting points, and it can be locked up to prevent unauthorized adjustments by unskilled operators.

For esthetic purposes, I have shown the pedestals with straight vertical base sections and tapered top portions. A two degree taper of the top portions relieves the somewhat heavy and massive appearance that characterizes the pedestals when made straight. This is strictly a matter of choice. The functioning of the pedestals would not be af fected by either design. I have also shown the pedestals, cross struts, and side frames with neatly rounded corners. Here again this is a matter of choice. All covers could be made with square corners, if preferred. The metal trim strips 154 shown in FIGURES 3 and 7 have the same sectional shape as splice plates 112 and their use is a matter of choice for appearance only.

The covers as shown with all rounded corners are quite simple to fabricate as illustrated in FIGURES 17, 18, 19 and 20. FIGURE 20 shows a typical pattern for the top portion of one of the covers. This could be laid out by anyone skilled in the art of sheet metal Working. The dotted lines show the tangent points of the curved corner bends. The sides are folded around, the top is folded down. The corner portions of the top are curved down to meet the sides and welded thereto. This leaves gaps at the front top corners of the cover. Spherical corners as shown in FIGURE 19 are available from various manufacturers for fitting into these gaps. These may be obtained with a number of radii and in various thicknesses. When welded into place and ground smooth they give the covers the appearance of having been made in huge die presses, which of coure, would be prohibitively expensive for the usual quantities involved. For general purposes, I find inside radii of approximately two inches to be satisfactory.

I have now described my invention so that those skilled in the art of machinery manufacture may readily practice it. Obviously, many variations and modifications could be devised, once the general principle of design is disclosed. For instance, cold rolled steel plate could be used instead of Blanchard ground plate for the main mounting plates. Even hot rolled steel plate could be used for less critical applications, and it could be welded to the base members instead of bolted as I have illustrated. All these and other similar modifications fall within the scope of my invention as disclosed and claimed. Where dimensions have been given, these are for purposes of illustration only and in no way are they intended as limitations.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising an improved machine frame structure including:

(a) a base member,

(b) a flat upright plate member fully machined for mounting machine elements thereon fixedly attached to the base member, and

(c) an enclosing cover member releasably attached to both said base member and said plate member to form a first frame pedestal with one face of the plate member exposed, and with the cover easily removable for access to the inside of the pedestal.

2. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 1 wherein:

(d) said machine frame comprises a second frame 3. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 2' wherein:

(e) said machine frame comprises two or more pairs of pedestals each pair being connected to an adjacent pair by hollow side frame members attached to and between the respective pedestal plate members to permit the passage of piping, wiring and mechanical drives between the pairs of adjacent pedestals, said hollow side frame members comprising at least two elements, a rigid element and a cover element.

4. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 1 wherein:

(d) said base member comprises a base plate, an upright front plate and two side plates formed into a single unit, mounted on a sole plate, and having one or more openings in its bottom for bringing services into the said pedestal through cooperating openings in the sole plate.

5. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 1 wherein:

(d) instrument and control panels are mounted on the machine frame so that the said panels fit flush with the inside surface of the cover member, said panels being accessible through appropriate openings provided in the cover member.

6. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 1 wherein:

(d) said fiat upright plate member has radiused corners at its top, said base member has radiused corners at its front, and said cover member has all corners radiused to match the upright plate member and base member.

7. An article of manufacture as recited in claim 1 wherein:

(d) said flat upright plate member has a formed channel strip attached to its edge to receive the said cover member, and said cover member has attached to its bottom edge a splice plate for overlapping the top portion of the said base member when attached thereto.

8. An article of manufacture comprising an improved machine frame structure having a plurality of pedestal elements, each pedestal element including:

(a) a base member comprising a base plate, an upright front plate and two side plates formed into a single unit, said base member being mounted on a sole plate embedded in the floor wherein one or more openings is formed in the base plate of the said base member for bringing services into the pedestal element through cooperating openings in the sole plate and floor,

(b) a Blanchard ground upright plate member fixedly attached to said base member forming an integral part of the pedestal element, and

(c) an enclosing cover member releasably attached to both said base member and said plate member forming the outside portion of the pedestal element leaving one face of the plate member exposed, and with the cover easily removable for access to the inside of the pedestal,

(d) said pedestal elements being arranged in opposed pairs adjacent one another, wherein interconnection between opposed pedestals is by hollow cross connecting struts, and, between paired adjacent pedestals by hollow side frame members, each of said cross connecting struts and side frame members adapted to permit the passage therethrough of piping,

wiring and mechanical drives, said hollow side frame members preferably consisting of at least two elements, a rigid element and a cover element,

(e) said plate member further having a formed channel strip attached to its edge to receive the said cover member,

(f) said cover member further having attached to its bottom edge a splice plate for overlapping the top portion of the said base member where attached thereto, and

(g) instrument and control panels when required mounted on the machine frame so that the said panels fit flush with the inside surface of the cover member, said panels being accessible through appropriate openings provided in said cover member.

9. As an article of manufacture for an improved machine frome structure, a releasably attached cover member capable of being fabricated from a single blank suitably cut and formed, said blank comprising:

(a) a front portion, a top portion and two side portions,

(b) said top and side portions being adapted to fold adjacent the said front portion forming curved corners with the top and side portions being attached to one another, and

(c) spherical corner members filling the gaps at the front top corners of said cover member and attached thereto.

10. A device as recited in claim 9, wherein said cover member further has attached to the lower front edge thereof a splice plate for overlapping engagement of a portion of the machine frame structure.

11. A device as recited in claim 10, wherein said cover member further has openings cut in the front portion thereof to allow access to the inside of the machine frame structure, said openings being lined with a pliable mouldmg.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 691,923 1/1902 Whitlock 162 1,669,073 5/1928 Albach 312265 1,844,877 2/1932 Wentzel 100-462 1,880,455 10/1932 Mason 100162 2,686,413 8/1954 Roubloff et al. 100162 X 2,718,827 9/1955 Whittum 1O0-163 X 2,784,650 3/1957 Magnani 162262 2,869,953 l/1959 Miller et al. 312-265 X 3,205,123 9/1965 Hornbostel 162381 X 3,255,563 6/1966 Sauer 52-242 X JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE COMPRISING AN IMPROVED MACHINE FRAME STRUCTURE INCLUDING: (A) A BASE MEMBER, (B) A FLAT UPRIGHT PLATE MEMBER FULLY MACHINED FOR MOUNTING MACHINE ELEMENTS THEREON FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO THE BASE MEMBER, AND (C) AN ENCLOSING COVER MEMBER RELEASABLY ATTACHED TO BOTH SAID BASE MEMBER AND SAID PLATE MEMBER TO FORM A FIRST FRAME PEDESTAL WITH ONE FACE OF THE PLATE MEMBER EXPOSED, AND WITH THE COVER EASILY REMOVABLE FOR ACCESS TO THE INSIDE OF HE PEDESTAL. 